


Of Monsters And Super Brothers

by Tiny_Dragongirl



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Nightmares, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Protective Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-06 00:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18840301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiny_Dragongirl/pseuds/Tiny_Dragongirl
Summary: Don't fear monsters, let them be your guardian angels.Or, Morgan has nightmares and her self-appointed brother tries to help her.





	Of Monsters And Super Brothers

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt (pine cone monsters) requested by [flannelgiraffe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flannelgiraffe/pseuds/flannelgiraffe)

“Peter!”

 

Morgan squealed, dragging out the ees in his name, as she ran into Peter’s arms.

 

“Hey, ladybug!” He picked her up, enjoying her delighted giggles. “What’s up?”

 

“The sky’s up, silly.” Morgan rolled her eyes to emphasise her words but the effect was ruined by another fit of giggle.

 

“Is that so? Are you being Brainy Smurf?” Peter blew raspberry kisses into her neck. “Watch out, here comes the tickle monster!”

 

“It’s not fair! Tickling isn’t allowed!”

 

Morgan squirmed and squealed and laughed until they somehow ended up on the floor—Peter lying on his back, she sitting on his stomach with a triumphant look on her face. When she reached out and wiggled her fingers over his stomach, Peter groaned.

 

“Who’s the tickle monster now?” she asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

 

Peter had experienced a few close calls during patrols but none of them had been nearly as scary as being threatened by Morgan Stark. Spider-Man, protector of the neighbourhood and member of the Avengers, would meet his end by the tickling fingers of a five-year-old girl. What a way to go.

 

Luckily, in the last minute he was rescued by Pepper who picked up her protesting daughter. Peter scrambled to his feet, theatrically coughing and taking deep breaths, much to Morgan’s amusement. He blushed when he noticed a small smile playing on Pepper’s lips. So much for making the impression of a mature and responsible big brother. Self-appointed big brother but still.

 

“Good to see you, Peter.” Pepper greeted him with a warm hug. “In the past two days all Morgan talked about was you. I hope you’re ready for a busy weekend because she made plans for every single second.”

 

“I did not!” the accused protested in such an indignant tone that suggested a long and elaborate list of activities, colour-coded and timed to the split second. “Mom, can Peter sleep in my room?”

 

“Honey, we’ve talked about it. Peter’s sleeping in his room. I mean, the guest room.”

 

The slip warmed Peter’s heart. He was just as much excited about the weekend as Morgan and now that he was finally here, with them, he felt overcome with a great and unspeakable content. Even with an unfillable hole in his heart, Peter felt happy.

 

“I’ll be right next door and I promise to tell you a bedtime story every night while I’m here. How does that sound?”

 

With very great concentration that looked almost funny on such a small girl’s face, Morgan contemplated the offer before answering, “Good.”

 

Peter smiled and offered a hand to Morgan who gladly accepted it. “But I bet there’s much to do before bedtime, am I right?” She nodded. “Awesome! So, what do you have in mind for us, oh little ladybug? Hit me with your brilliant plan!”

 

“Would you like to meet my new bird friend?”

 

“Whoa, you have a new bird friend and you’re telling me this now? Of course I’d like to meet them!”

 

“Come on then,” and with that she dragged Peter into the garden.

  
  
  
  


Peter woke up and sat bolt upright in bed, his mind frantically trying to work out what had happened. Glancing at his phone, he learnt that it was quarter past two. What awoke him at such an ungodly hour? Should he don the suit? Were they under attack? He waited, nerves on edge, listened until— There it was! There was that sound again, that small, helpless whimper behind the darkness of the night.

 

And it came from Morgan’s room.

 

Peter jumped out of bed, instinctively grabbed his web shooters, and ran to her. There he switched on the bedside lamp and, half-crouched over Morgan, scanned the room—only to find out that she was only having a nightmare. No attacker hiding in the shadows. No creepy assailants lurking in the shadows. Good. A nightmare? Not so good.

 

“Daddy!” Morgan cried in her sleep and Peter’s heart clenched.

 

“Ssh, Morgan. It’s okay. Wake up, ladybug, it’s just a dream. Hey, hey, Morgan, it’s okay.” After some gentle shaking, finally she woke up, with tears and confusion in her eyes. “Hey,” Peter whispered. “It’s me. Peter. You’re safe. You’re with me. You were having a bad dream but you’re with me and I won’t let anything happen to you. Okay?”

 

“Pinkie promise?”

 

“Pinkie promise.”

 

As he cradled Morgan close to his chest, slowly rocking her back and forth, he whispered promises into her hair. He promised to always protect her—and he meant to keep his promise.

 

“Thank you, Peter.” A blinking, half-asleep Pepper appeared in the doorway. “I’m sorry you had to experience it. I usually wake up when she has a bad dream but apparently, your spider senses beat me to it.”

 

Peter frowned. “Does this happen regularly?”

 

He looked down at Morgan’s tear-stained face. She had fallen asleep again, one arm around his neck, one hand clutching his pajama shirt. To imagine that she regularly had to suffer from nightmares— well, if fairy tales told the truth and Sandman brought dreams to people, Peter was ready to fight him. Anything to save Morgan from the demons of the night.

 

“Practically every second or third night.” Pepper sighed. “She quickly goes back to sleep but… Oh, I just wish I could do something to help her.”

 

_Anything_ , Peter repeated to himself as he carefully lowered Morgan back to her bed. He made a promise, now he only needed a good plan.

 

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.”

  
  
  
  


The next morning Morgan found Peter in the living room, working hard on something. When he heard her barefoot steps approach, he turned around and greeted her with a huge grin.

 

“Good morning, Princess Bubblegum!”

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“I’m making pine cone monsters. Look!” He held up a pine cone that he’d decorated with a toothy mouth and a single eye. “Rawr!”

 

Morgan giggled. “It wants to eat me!”

 

“No, it wants to be your friend. See?” Peter tapped her nose with the monster. “It likes you! If you can speak pine tree, maybe it will whisper its name into your ear.”

 

She listened, face scrunched up with concentration, as she took the monster from him and held it close to her ear. “It’s Linus,” she whispered in awe. “His name’s Linus!”

 

“Nice to meet you, Linus!” Peter laughed before putting up a severe face. Or at least, he tried to do so. “I bet he feels a bit lonely, even with such an amazing new friend as you.”

 

“Why is he lonely?”

 

“He’s missing the company of his pine cone monster friends. Think we can help him with that?”

 

He gestured to the dozen of pine cones he’d gathered that morning. Morgan looked down at Linus with knitted brows, examined him, then nodded.

 

“Good. But I warn you, this task requires great strength. Like, we need to eat something, so we grow super muscles! Why don’t we introduce Linus to your mom’s award-winning pancakes?”

  
  
  
  


“One more bedtime story?”

 

It was hard to resist the puppy eyes but Peter had to be strong.

 

“I already told you two stories,” he argued and Morgan pouted. “Time to sleep, ladybug! I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep, okey-dokey?” She nodded. “And then, while you’re asleep, Linus and his friends are going to guard your dreams.”

 

Both of them looked around the room, enumerating their pine cone monster friends and checking if none of them were neglecting their duties. Peter and Morgan had spent the day creating a dozen of these, then named each of them and made them explore the house and the garden. During their journey, the army of pine cone monsters had become a bantering but warm-hearted family and chosen Morgan to be their queen, the first of her name.

 

“And we vow to protect our queen now and forever, till the end of time, till the cows come home,” Peter had recited in a gravelly voice, imitating that it was Linus speaking, and Morgan had cheered.

 

Now Linus sat on the windowsill, keeping an eye on the outside world, while Lucy, Jake, Finn, Ginger and the other monsters took their strategic positions all around the room.

 

“Now and forever,” Peter whispered.

 

“Till the cows come home,” Morgan whispered back, giggling.

 

She was blinking more slowly now, as if her eyelids were heavy, but she didn’t seem to fight sleep anymore. Good. Peter leant closer and planted a soft kiss onto her forehead.

 

“Sweet dreams, ladybug.”

 

As he straightened, although barely audible, he managed to catch her mumbling, “You too, super brother.”


End file.
